Brian Wikle, “Is it a Breath of Fresh Air? Costs and

Is it a Breath of Fresh Air?
Costs and Benefits of a
Transportation Tax Credit
Brian Wikle
Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst
Resolution:
• The Utah State government should provide a tax
credit or incentive to Utah businesses that provide
their employees with a public transit pass.
Resolution:
• The Utah State government should provide a tax
credit or incentive to Utah businesses that provide
their employees with a public transit pass.
Utah State reduces
taxes for a business
A business buys a transit
pass for employees
How do People Get to Work?
How do People Get to Work?
• Costs for each option
• Benefits for each option
Costs
• Gasoline
• Car repairs
• Time to drive
• Risk of accident
• Air pollution
• Road congestion
Benefits
• Door to door
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible route
• Privacy
Costs
• Ticket cost
• Time to ride
• UTA schedule
• Not door to door
Benefits
• Less road congestion
• Cleaner air ???
Costs and Benefits of the Resolution
Costs
• Less convenient
• More time
Benefits
• Free transportation
Costs and Benefits of the Resolution
Costs
Benefits
• Buying transit passes • Lower tax payments
Costs and Benefits of the Resolution
Costs
• Lower tax revenue
Benefits
• Less road congestion
• Cleaner air ???
Congestion
• Some commuters use transit even though
they own a car; they may reduce the number
of vehicles on roads by 21,000 round trips
each day. (Office of the Utah Legislative Auditor General)
• What percent of employees provided a transit
pass will use it rather than their own car?
Cleaner air ???